How Long Ago Did It Happen?

Disclaimer: No money has passed hands; only naughty thoughts have passed in imagination.

Author's Note: This is the first time I have written a reply to a challenge so it will be both an adventure and good fun. MysteryMadchen posted this challenge on the CWESS and it was too good to pass up. So this story is dedicated to MysteryMadchen for her wonderful reviews to my stories and for posting this fantastic challenge/prompt.

S—D

Chapter ten

Then:

Bobby and Jim glanced at each other over the unconscious body of their friend Joshua, both men sporting fresh bruises and split lips. 'Damn it I'm gettin' too old for this shit.' Bobby cussed spitting out a small amount of blood.

'You and me both Bobby,' Jim grinned tiredly, 'you and me both.'

'Where's Sam?' Bobby glanced around his destroyed living room, 'ahh damn it Dean?'

'Bobby?' Jim let his gaze follow Bobby's to where they saw the seemingly lifeless form of Dean partially hidden by an overturned armchair. 'Oh no Dean?'

Bobby dropped to his knees next to Dean and with shaking hands checked for a pulse, 'he's alive.' Was all he could manage to say as he looked up at his old friend and fellow hunter, 'John's gone and Sam's missing ... what the hell is going on Jim?' Bobby shook his head and blinked furiously trying to stop the tears of frustration and fear, 'what the hell is happening Jim?'

Now:

Sam kept a death like grip on Khan's harness as the dog led him deeper into the junkyard. He forced himself to keep moving, and to calm his breathing, he was no good to anyone if he ended up having a panic attack. As he walked alongside Khan Sam listened to the now familiar sounds of Bobby's salvage yard, the occasional groan of metal as the carcasses of old cars shifted and scraped against each other as they settled even more. The panting of Khan and of Rumsfeld, the Rottweiler keeping pace with them in the aisle next to them, heaving a small sigh of relief Sam stopped walking and took a breath listening carefully.

'Sammy where are you son ... it's daddy.' A voice sounded in Sam's permanent darkness, it sounded so much like his dad's but then at the same time it sounded nothing like him. The deep richness of his voice, honed with whiskey and hard living, was missing instead there was an almost high-pitched nasally tone in it. Frowning Sam fought against his first instinct to run instead he listened intently for the sound of footfalls, breathing anything that indicated where John might be lurking.

'Samuel Winchester you will obey me and come out of hiding.' John's voice carried through the yard, the volume increasing letting Sam know that his father was getting closer to him instead of further away.

'Go Khan,' Sam whispered letting the dog take the lead once again, when he heard the low menacing growl of Rumsfeld heralding her intent to attack. The yell of surprise and pain let him know that she had at least bitten his dad, the cursing and crashing confirming it to him. 'Good girl,' he muttered the amount of cursing and threatening let Sam know that she had managed to get away without injury, but causing enough of a distraction for Khan to lead Sam away from his possessed father.

Think Sam think what did you learn about the symbiotes? The thought kept replaying through Sam's mind as he crouched between two wrecked cars, Khan placed himself in front of him and crouched low watching and waiting. The Draconian Symbiotes, come on Sam think, the Draconian Symbiotes, they can be killed ... dammit where's Dean? I can't do this ... dammit I'm blind what can I ... focus Sam ... focus. Okay to kill Draconian Symbiotes ... need stillness complete stillness. Then ... ummm ... think Sam ... What would Dean do? Need to get dad still and happy yeah okay and hell is already freezing over.

With a shaking hand Sam wiped the sweat away from his eyes and tried to take a calm breath, if he wasn't calm then he wasn't going to be able to get his dad calm.

'Hey Sammy come on dude it's just me, just ya dad.'

'D-Dad?' Sam stopped himself before he could stutter anymore and took a deep cleansing breath, 'Dad you feeling okay?'

'I'll feel better when I can ... hold you ... son.'

'Dad ... do you remember coming to watch my first soccer match in sixth grade?' Sixteen year old Sam tried to bring to mind every happy memory he had with his dad, 'I was so worried about wearing my glasses while I was playing so you and Dean tied the arms together so they wouldn't come off.'

John chuckled at the memory, Sam was so tiny to begin with and he had to wear such thick glasses but he still wanted to be like the other boys, and damn could he run even back then. Coach said that he was the fastest runner in the team and the most accurate passer for the briefest of seconds John felt a clarity he hadn't felt for a long, long time. 'Yeah Sammy I remember, you guys won the championship in the end. No one teased you about your glasses after that.'

John eased himself down to sit against the wreckage closest to him, suddenly he felt an overwhelming tiredness, the Symbiotes chatter quietening slightly, 'Dean had you practicing and training at the same time though you never knew it.' Red hot flares of pain shot through his head and neck; the roaring filled his ears again building until he could feel blood dripping from his ears and nose. 'Stop it!' He screamed.

'Dad?' Sam called out his heartbeat skipping a beat when he heard the raw pain in his father's scream, 'Dad?'

'Go Sam, get outta here now.' John yelled the muscles in his neck cording as he strained against the pain, against the punishment his possessors were inflicting on him, knowing it will only get worse until the blood lust consumes him.

'No ... no dad I'm not leaving you, we – we know what's inside of you, we know how to kill them.' Sam blurted out, 'you have to stay really still and calm down they feed off rage off anger.'

'Dammit Sam just go now.' John whimpered his sight now filled with a red haze, 'before I ...'

'Dad I never blamed you, for what happened when I was a baby.'

'Sam?' John forced himself to listen to his baby boy's voice to ignore the shrieking inside his head. 'What do you mean?'

'The accident when I got hurt ... I know it was never your fault dad.'

'But I never ... we never talked much about it how could you know?'

'I dunno but I do, I remember hearing you talk to Uncle Bobby bout it once, about the guy who hit us. But I've always known dad you couldn't do anything like that to me or Dean.'

'I blinded you Sam I was the one who hit you, who forced you to go on that ...'

'No dad it was the Symbiotes not you I know that now, I don't blame you dad. I love you.' Sam cleared his throat and eased his grip on Khan's harness, 'anyway it was only a matter of time before I went blind completely.'

'You didn't know that no one did Sam we didn't even know about that sliver. This is all on me.'

'Stay calm dad please just stay calm and listen to me you have to stay calm and stay as still as you can.'

'I – I don't know if I can do that Sam, they're so strong.'

'You're stronger dad, you know you are.' Sam eased himself forward a little trying to gauge where his dad's voice was coming from. 'Hell you managed to raise me and Dean on ya own and that's saying something.'

'I never wanted to hurt you Sammy.'

'I know you didn't dad, hey remember when you and Uncle Bobby took me and Dean to that amusement park for Dean's tenth birthday?'

'You remember that?'

'Yeah I remember you looked really green after going on that roller coaster with Dean.'

'I wasn't the only one, your brother puked all over the place after that pie eating contest.'

'And yet he still loves pie.'

'Sure does.'

'Dad?'

'Yeah ... Sammy?'

'Tell me about when I was born.' Sam crouched down next to Khan as he moved closer to where he was sure his father was. 'What was I like?'

'You were so tiny Sam, you came four weeks early and gave me and your mom a fright,' John's voice softened as he remembered that day so clearly, 'your mom called me at work and said that she wanted to go to the hospital, she felt something was wrong but didn't know what. So I picked up Dean from day care and went home to find your mom standing on the front step with her bags packed. She said that she had a feeling you weren't gonna wait any longer, so we took her to the hospital and I remember thinking that this was just Mary being Mary again. Next thing I know is ... you're on your way.'

'Dean must've been scared.' Sam said as he tried to imagine his older brother as a scared little toddler.

'Nah he just sat there and said it's gonna be okay daddy, bubba's gonna be fine.'

'Bubba?'

'Yep that's what he used to call ... argh!'

'Dad?'

'They're ahh not giving ... giving up ... ahh fuck.'

'Hang on dad, just keep talking tell me more about when I was born. I didn't know I was premature.'

'A nurse offered to look after Dean for me so I could go in with your mom, barely took anytime at all and there you were tiny red-faced a head full of dark hair and screaming at the top of your lungs.' John chuckled and he felt a little freer before the pain spiked again, panting through it he tried to focus on the memory of Sam's birth. 'The doctors were amazed aside from being a little on the small side you were perfect and your mom was radiant she had this glow to her just like she did when she had Dean.'

'I guess I'm kind of making up for the tininess now.'

'Yeah you keep growing and you'll be taller than me.' John laughed, he laughed and the pain became unbearable. 'Argh Sam you need to get outta here.'

'No dad I'm not leaving you.' Sam said as he tentatively put a hand out and touched his father's leg, 'Dad?'

'God dammit Sam you have to get out of here.'

'No, no I can't leave you dad ... talk to me more about the day I was born, what did Dean say and do?'

'He was so excited, ya know he ... he ... he ahh always knew that you were gonna be a boy,' John forced the words out, while his insides felt like they were turning into molten lava trying to find a way to erupt out of him. 'He sat up in the chair next to your mom's bed and held you so carefully. You put this little hand out and gripped his thumb, I thought that he was going to explode he was that excited.' The strain now evident on his face, sounded in his voice as John desperately tried to fight his internal enemy. 'How do you know how to ... kill ... kill them?'

'Dean and me ... we researched it together.' Sam said proudly, 'he's been helping me learn Braille too.'

'He taught you to read too.'

'He did?'

'Yeah he did, when he came home from kinder he'd sit down with you and show you the words he was learning. I don't think either of you really understood what you were reading but it was great watching it.'

'We both love you dad.' Sam said moving again he managed to seat himself next to his father with Khan on his other side, 'when did you take me home after I was born?'

'The doctors they ahh ... they ahh ...'

Sam felt his father tense up next to him, so taking a deep breath he let his fingers trail down John's arm until he felt his hand, and then without another word he picked his father's hand up and held it tightly, lacing his fingers between John's slightly longer and coarser ones. 'Hang in there dad, you just have to stay really still and happy, calm don't get angry please.'

'Your mom would be so proud of you Sam,' John said thickly, choking on the Symbiotes assault on his throat and chest, 'you've become such a wonderful and brave young man.'

'Nah I'm scared dad, scared and well not that I can do much.'

'Sam ... hey Sam don't let me hear you talk like that.' John said a little sharper than he intended and felt the surge inside of him, he had to contain it for Sam's sake, his son, his blind son needed him. 'Dean was funny when ... when we took you home ... he ahh ... he ahh ...' John's back arched as the pain overwhelmed him completely.

'Dad? Dad? What is it?' Sam cried out his free hand flailing in an attempt to find his father's face, 'breath through it dad please breathe through it.'

Through the red haze of his pain and blood lust, John heard his son begging him to breathe through it, to hang on, 'too hard Sam-my' John bit out but still tried to calm himself down for the sake of his baby boy.

Letting his mind go blank, John concentrated on the love of his life Mary, of his two baby boys and their life together before it all went to hell. He felt a white warmth cover him like a blanket as he slowly calmed down and became still, he could feel Mary's touch on his cheek, hear her soft laugh in his ears, her smile reflected in Sam's, her eyes in Dean's green ones and felt the all-consuming rage start to dissolve in him.

'Dad? Daddy?' Terrified Sam turned until he was kneeling next to his father's inert form, 'dad please you're scaring me.' His hands ghosted over his father's face and chest, 'don't leave me please dad please you can't leave us not now.'

Khan's ears pricked up and he started to growl low and nastily, 'what is it Khan?' Sam reached for his guide dog when he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer, 'who is it Khan? Who's there?'

Sam knelt next to his father, intent on protecting him to the best of his ability as he listened and tried to recognise the scents swirling around him, but the cloying over-powering stench of blood around his father made it impossible. 'Who's there?' He asked loudly but internally winced when he heard the tremor in his own voice, 'who are you?'

TBC

End note: There will be Dean and the others in the next chapter I promise!!!